Highly Responsive to Prayers
by Cloud802
Summary: Reimu's coming of age means certain responsibilities as caretaker of the shrine. These responsibilities include nearly dying, separating from herself, getting whacked in the face by the Yin Yang orb, and fighting angels of death. Welcome to Touhou.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Enter Shrine Maiden Reimu

It happened quickly, and without warning. Her life had been absolutely, positively, most definitely, turned entirely upside down. Perhaps it was fate mocking her ability as a shrine maiden, or perhaps it was her own fault that the situation had come this far over the six years she had been entrusted to her shrine. She smiled to herself, taking a light sip of her tea as she remembered.

Yes, perhaps it was fate that mocked her.

Or perhaps it was her own fault.

Either way, she couldn't care less.

She was exactly where she wanted to be at that very moment.

"Marisa!" she called.

------

"Reimu!!"

"REIMU!"

The shrine maiden in training gritted her teeth at the pest of a servant. She had been sweeping the porch when the mutant turtle flew out of the shrine, shouting her name at the top of his lungs. She thought of disposing of him, but honestly, he was at least five times her size, and she was only twelve years old.

It wouldn't have been a very long, or even productive fight for that matter.

"What is it Genji?" Instead she bites her tongue, and speaks through her already gritted teeth.

"I think you should come see this," said the wizened turtle, "You are not going to like it."

She took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Does mother really have more chores for me already?"

The turtle looked ashamed of himself, floating in midair like that. He let his gaze drift to the side when he continued, "I am afraid it is far worse than that my lady."

With another reluctant sigh, Reimu let the broom fall to the ground and walked into the shrine, not speaking another word to the turtle behind her. When she cast aside the sliding door, she was surprised to find that neither of her parents were there to scold her. The main room, the kitchen, their bedroom, she checked them all in a span of mere minutes, yet they were nowhere to be found. She turned to Genji, who had been closely following her, "What is this?"

"Follow me," he said gently.

For the first time since they had built the shrine, Reimu listened to what Genji had to say, and followed him without gripe or protest. He led her back down the hallway,  
to her own bedroom at the other end of the shrine. She opened the door slowly, not sure what to make of this situation. As she entered the room she noticed, for the first time since she had come from the porch, that the sun was setting. It cast an almost surreal orange in her bedroom, making everything look... melancholic almost. It was at that moment she knew what Genji had been so reluctant about, and her fears were confirmed when she glanced at her mattress, on it laid a piece of paper, a note, and next to it was an orb.

The Yin Yang orb.

It was about the size of her head, perfect for constantly crushing her face, as it had in her training.

As its name entailed, it was made after the image of the Yin Yang symbol.

Peace and chaos, light and dark, balance and disruption.

It represented, not good versus evil, but rather the fact that there would always be balance between the two.

She had learned of the symbol of Yin Yang when she was still a small child, stumbling over her own feet, barely able to hold her gohei.

It was at that moment that her world fell apart.

The glow of the Yin Yang orb did nothing to comfort her.

She did not read the note, she didn't have to, to know what it said.

Her parents had returned to the human world, entrusting her to the shrine as its new miko.

Reimu fell to her knees, her blank gaze falling on the accursed orb in front of her.

She didn't even feel the tears slide down her face, nor did she notice when Genji took his place beside her, attempting to comfort her.

It was sudden and violent when it happened.

The Yin Yang orb began to glow ever brighter, and Reimu awoke from her grief to notice that it was floating. The note her parents had left went flying out the window.  
A storm took place in the center of her very room, gale winds rushing to and fro, knocking her to the ground as she attempted to stand.

Just as suddenly as the storm had happened, it stopped, and the Yin Yang orb fell back to the ground, rolling towards her small cabinet in the corner of the room.

"Get down!" Shouted Genji.

Reimu immediately fell to the ground face down, covering her head with her arms as she did so, and not a moment too soon.

The west wall of her bedroom was blown apart in the blink of an eye, then the east, and the north. Peeking through the cover of her arms with frightened eyes, Reimu witnessed the shrine being torn apart from the inside. Her family's belongings were lost to the sky in an instant, charms and kitchen ware were eaten by the forest.  
The miko in training screamed bloody murder, wishing it would just stop.

With a final and decisive blast Hakurei shrine was annihilated.

Reimu's mouth was dry, her throat aching and sore from screaming. She felt a horrible stinging pain in her side, and when she reached down to touch it her eyes were stung with tears of pain.

"Reimu!"

Genji's shouts of worry did not fall on deaf ears.

"H... help..."

She was surrounded by the rubble of the shrine, the pain in her side growing ever sharper. Her leg was trapped under one of the fallen roof beams. Genji approached her carefully, nudging the beam from her legs. "Oh no," he muttered to himself.

Reimu had been injured.

The left side off her ribs was bleeding profusely.

For the first time in many years Genji panicked.

"Reimu, you're injured!"

She reached down to touch her laceration once more, then hissed and decided against such an action. She didn't know why all of this was happening to her. Was this to be her final test as a shrine maiden in training? She thought back to all those times when she would lazily skip over her training and go play with the animals in the forest.

She regretted nothing more at that moment.

Perhaps if she had trained harder, she would have been better prepared.

"I'm sorry Genji," she whispered, smiling softly at the old turtle and petting his head. "I should have concentrated on my training more."

"Oh isn't that sweet? A touching moment before your death."

Reimu's vision was blurry, and she could not tell who had spoken, but Genji could see the woman well enough.

Long, flowing blue hair, and four white wings on her back. She smiled down at the two warmly as she floated above the remains of the shrine, almost as if she had given herself credit for the touching moment she spoke of. The turtle immediately knew that this was the person responsible for Hakurei's destruction.  
"Who are you?" It was a loaded question, and one that such a culprit was not required to answer, considering as she had the upper hand.

"My name is Sariel." Genji opened his mouth to speak and the woman held out her hand, "Yes, THAT Sariel. It just so happens that this little girl's ticket has been drawn,  
it's time for her to go."

Genji glared, "What could the angel of death want with a girl such as Reimu? She had just barely become the shrine's caretaker, and now you would tear that from her grasp?!"

"Oh happily, it is my job after all," she said with a grin. "Ta ta now, don't forget to say your goodbyes!"

With a flash of light the angel had disappeared, leaving Genji in the middle of a destroyed shrine, floating over a little girl as she lay on her death bed. This was not the way he pictured his contract with the Hakurei family ending. There had to be some way he could save Reimu!

"Genji..."

The turtle floated down to Reimu, who only smiled softly. Twelve years old... far too young to have her life cut short, even if the angel of death had declared it be so.

"What is it Reimu?"

"You all taught me, that even in Gensokyo, a place where the strange is cast out of society, there is a place for good men and women, people who would not stand by while something like this happened to them." She coughed lightly. "Unless I leave my physical body, I will die."

"What?"

She lifted her finger shakily, pointing at the Yin Yang orb, buried under rubble a few yards away. "I need the Yin Yang orb," she said softly, "I need to go after her."

Genji took a deep breath, "I understand."

As he retrieved the Yin Yang orb and brought it to the dying girl, he couldn't help but remember her first steps at that moment, how proud both her parents were when she had simply walked to the other side of the room. At that time he had not understood why they had been so happy for the girl, or even why it was such an accomplishment in the first place. Walking was a simple human function, and nothing to be proud of.

As he gave her the Yin Yang orb, he felt that he finally understood why they were so proud of their little girl.

The orb began to let off a blinding light, and Genji was blown back by a concussive magical force. He regained his bearings and watched in awe what occured before him.  
Reimu had departed from the physical plane of existence. Her body was left sleeping soundly, almost in a coma. Slightly transparent, the shrine maiden floated above herself,  
holding the Yin Yang orb under her left arm, and her gohei in her right hand.

Yes...

At that moment he understood why her parents had been so proud of her on that day, for he felt the very same.

Defiance seeped from her very presence.

And he was confident that she was ready for her final test as a shrine maiden in training.

"SHINGYOKU! Hear me, spirit who guards the gateway to the underworld!"

It was then that the Earth began to shake, and the glow from the Yin Yang orb began to subside.

The Reimu who floated above her own body was not dressed in the garbs of everyday life at the shrine. She was dressed in her own robes now, cut off at the shoulders, her sleeves were tied to her arms on their own. She descended back to the ground, driving her gohei into the dirt below her feet, "I seek audience!"

It was then that the sky seemed to split from itself.

Genji was left awestruck.

The gate guardian Shingyoku descended from the very heavens themselves.

The two beings, also one, known as Shingyoku.

A female and a male both, dressed in sacred robes, holding each others hands as they approached the remains of the Hakurei shrine.

------

Yes, in one single afternoon, one small moment, Reimu Hakurei's life had been turned upside down.


	2. Chapter 2

Cloud: Holy son of a bitch am I working blind on this one.

I only just started playing the games, and I started with the Windows ones. Highly Responsive to Prayers has almost NO story, so guess what I get to do? Yeeeeeaaaah...

Chapter 2: The Gate Guardian's Reluctance

Shingyoku finished their descent, landing a short distance from the miko that had summoned them.

The male was the first to step forward, still linked at the hand with his counterpart, "Who dares to summon the Great Guardian Shingyoku?"

Reimu frowned, "Jeez, if I'd have known you'd give me an attitude I would have found a different way."

"She is not human," muttered the female.

"Look, human... spirit... does it really matter? I need to go after that angel of death, she completely obliterated my shrine."

"You are the Hakurei daughter, are you not?" asked the male, "Where are your guardians?"

Reimu frowned, casting her glance down, "They're... not here anymore..."

"Your body is not yet expired," said the female, "We cannot escort you to the underworld."

Reimu's grip tightened around the Yin Yang orb. "I'm going through that gate, whether you want me to or not! That troublesome angel is on the loose and if I don't get her then who will?!"

"Reimu," said Genji, "You should not speak to Shingyoku in that manner."

She turned and glared at the turtle, who backed off instantly. When she turned back to speak once more to the guardian she noticed that they were attempting to return the way they had arrived. "Well you can't just up and leave without hearing me out!"

"Reimu!" shouted Genji, "Don't!"

With a swift motion, Reimu tossed the Yin Yang orb into the air above her head. Utilizing her gohei, she hit it as hard as she could in the immediate direction of the fleeing guardian. It glowed brightly and flew towards the intended target with a velocity Reimu had never managed in her training before. It hit dead on, Shingyoku screamed in agony as they fell to the ground. The ground capsized when they hit, causing dust and debris to go flying in every direction.

"I am the Hakurei shrine maiden, and I am going through that gate, whether you like it or not!!"

Suddenly, the dust was blown aside as if it were a mere distraction, and from the ground rose a large sphere-like object. It was in the shape of a Yin Yang, just like the orb that now belonged to Reimu.

"INSOLENT HUMAN! YOU WILL REGRET YOUR INSUBORDINATION!"

Reimu smirked, "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of a spirit now."

"DIE!"

"So extreme..."

Reimu dove to the side when the sphere charged her. It was a little larger than Genji, making it a difficult thing to dodge. "Genji, get my body out of here!"

"Yes my lady!"

Leaving her own safety to the turtle, she pushed herself to her feet and turned to face the gate guardian once again. She readied her gohei when fire seemed to sprout forth from the sphere. The flames spun around their source, as if waiting for the miko to move first. Reimu dug her feet into the ground.

This was a predicament, the Yin Yang orb was directly under the gate guardian, who was completely prepped to go on the offensive. She couldn't control the orb with her level of training, and next time she hit it, it would probably fly off into the atmosphere.

It was then that an idea came to her.

Reimu charged, bringing her gohei in front of her as she did so, "Spirit of protection!" The area around the shrine flashed as the barrier was put up around her and the guardian sphere.

"AND WHAT EXACTLY IS THAT SUPPOSED TO DO LITTLE SHRINE MAIDEN!?"

The fire sprung forth. The first spout of flame to reach her was struck aside by her gohei. There were many more, but Reimu didn't have time to count before she hit the ground full force, using her momentum and what little magic she had to slide towards her new weapon. As she passed the youkai she scooped up the Yin Yang orb and leaped to her feet behind Shingyoku, turning to face them once more. "That barrier isn't to protect me," she said, a smirk gracing her lips, "It's to do this!!"

With that final boast she tossed the Yin Yang orb into the air once more.

And the gate guardian realized exactly what she was about to do.

"NO, WE'LL BOTH DIE YOU FOOL!"

Regardless of the guardian's protests her gohei struck the orb, sending it flying straight for the sphere in front of her. When it struck the sphere blew apart, and man and woman were separated for the first time in hundreds of years. They both hit the barrier, falling to their knees. The orb flashed when it hit the opposite end of Reimu's barrier, and it came back with twice its initial force, heading straight for Reimu. Before she could react the orb struck her forehead with a resounding crack, and the shrine maiden was sent tumbling back onto her rear end.

Her hands immediately found their way to her forehead, which was already red and slightly swollen, "OW! Ow ow ow ow, I forgot how much that stupid orb STINGS!!"

Shingyoku watched on in morbid fascination.

"She really is..." said the man.

"Just a child," finished the woman.

When the pain subsided Reimu hopped to her feet and retrieved the Yin Yang orb, "Right!!" she shouted, "How was THAT for a shrine maiden in training?!"

The barrier fell from around them.

Genji promptly returned, ready to offer a helping hand to Reimu in case she was in need of assistance, but he was surprised to find the miko and the guardian staring each other down.

Finally, the man spoke, "I suppose if she is this persistent, then we have no choice."

The woman protested, "But, she is a simple child, sending her to the underworld... it's not hell, but the underworld has its own risks!"

"Perhaps that is why she must go," said the man. "Look around you," he spread his arms, "Her home is destroyed, she wants nothing more than to find the one responsible for this travesty."

The woman sighed, "Very well."

The man and the woman approached each other, locking hands. They both turned to Reimu and spoke at the same time, in perfect sync, "Reimu Hakurei, I, as the great guardian Shingyoku, bestow upon you permission to enter the underworld. However, you should be wary that it is not a peaceful place as your home once was."

"I'm well aware of that," muttered Reimu.

"Very well," spoke Shingyoku.

And with those final words the air in front of Reimu seemed to tear from itself, creating some sort of portal.

Without hesitation, she stepped through, ignoring the shout of Genji.

"She is rather persistent," said the man.

"I don't know if that's good or bad," said the woman.

---------

Reimu was shocked when she stepped through the portal, not shocked because of the abnormal sight of the underworld before her, but shocked at the fact that it looked... well... normal. She was not expecting to step into the center of a small village. It was what appeared to be night time, and people stared at her as they passed her, as if SHE were the strange one. She was in what appeared to be the town square, standing next to a small well. Curiosity overtaking her, she stepped next to the well and looked down, complete darkness was all that greeted her.

Growing more confused by the moment, she gave the bucket rope a good tug, and was surprised that there was no weight to it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Ms. Shrine Maiden."

Reimu nearly jumped from her skin at the sound of a voice. When she turned she was greeted by the sight of a small boy, half her height.

"My name is Yusuke," he said gently, holding out a hand for her to shake.

She took it and looked around herself, growing more confused, "Where am I?"

"You're in the underworld Miss."

"Are you sure? This looks like a normal village."

The boy gestured to a piece of cloth sticking from his hair, on this piece of cloth was his name written in Kanji.

Reimu's first instinct was to reach out and tug it.

"OW! Watch it, that hurts!"

"You're a ghost," she said dumbly.

"I just told you that you're in the underworld," he mumbled. "Hey, you're still alive right? You don't have a tag, and... I mean... maybe you could help us!"

"Help you with what?"

"You weren't the only one to come through that portal, they said I shouldn't talk to you, but you looked nice, so... I thought I'd ask."

"Who's 'they'?"

"The other ghosts, they say you might be like the others that came through the gate."

"What others?"

"There were three ladies, one of them had wings like a bat, and one of them was in a pretty dress. The last one had angel wings, but you're a miko."

"Sariel," growled Reimu.

"Can you help us?"

"I have to do something," she said, bluntly shooting the boy down.

The boy looked shocked at Reimu's reply, "But... you're a shrine maiden, you're job is to protect people from Youkai... isn't it?"

Reimu gritted her teeth and let out a sigh. "I'm not really a shrine maiden."

"But you're wearing the robes!"

"I know, it's a long story, I'm just after someone who destroyed my home."

"Our home is being destroyed too!" shouted the boy, "The other ghosts were right, you're just a coward."

Before Reimu could reply, he ran off down one of the many streets.

The priestess took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

'Maybe I'm not a very good shrine maiden,' she thought to herself, 'But my only goal is to stop Sariel right now, I can't worry about every little thing along the way.'

Despite her self counseling, Reimu's heart felt heavy, all she could see in her mind's eye was the boy's glare.

He hated her for refusing to help...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Succubus' Fire

Reimu was hopelessly lost.

It's not that she easily got lost, it's simply that the village she was currently in seemed to stretch on for an eternity. She thought she caught sight of the boy from before a few times, but he would disappear as she approached him. She set her goal on finding a way out of the accursed village, and was distraught to find that no matter how much she walked there was no exit. She had attempted to solicit the help of ghosts, only to be completely ignored, they really were afraid of her presence in their village, it seemed.

She was on her own.

On her own and completely lost.

On her own, completely lost, and being eaten alive by her own guilt.

As she rounded the corner onto another seamless street she was surprised to hear hushed whispering. She decided to take advantage of the opportunity and hid herself away in a nearby alley.

They were both male, and they looked frightened.

"I saw her again today," said the first man.

"You did?! Did she speak to you?"

"Shh, keep your voice down, they say another one arrived today, dressed as a priestess."

The other man scoffed, "Most likely sent here to gain our trust."

"Don't talk to her, the other villagers wouldn't like it."

"I'm not planning on it."

"Anyways, she didn't say anything. She just... stopped and stared at me for what felt like an eternity. I don't know what they're doing, or how they got to the underworld,  
but it can't be good news."

Reimu was officially interested, it seemed that, not only did Sariel have cronies, but that they were going around terrorizing the locals as well.

Now if she could just find her way out of this warped and eternal village.

"You there!"

"Damn," cursed Reimu.

It appeared that not every villager had taken a liking to ignoring her, the problem with the one approaching her was that he was big, at least as big as Genji.

Not only his size was the issue, he was backed by several smaller, but still heftily built men, and none of them looked happy.

Reimu smiled nervously, "Erm, what can I do for you gentlemen today?"

The fact that she was in a cramped alley with only one way out did not help her odds.

'Why didn't I learn to fly like I was supposed to?' she scolded herself.

"You can leave our village," said the burly man.

Reimu swallowed, her mouth becoming dry, "I'm sorry," she said meekly, "but I'm afraid I can't do that, I'm on an important mission."

The man moved to restrain her, but she had already turned and ran in the other direction, heading for the other opening of the alley. The men gave chase as she burst out onto the street, startling several people when she plowed through them. Criss-crossing her way through the crowd, she continued down the street, and the shouts of the burly men became quieter and quieter until they completely faded from her ears. She stopped suddenly, leaning her hands on her knees and panting,  
attempting to catch her breath after the ordeal.

It was bad enough that she had no idea where Sariel was, but she was surrounded by people who would do nothing to help her, and would be more than glad enough to tear her limb from limb it seemed.

She wasn't getting anywhere at this rate.

Wait a minute...

She looked down at herself...

Where was the Yin Yang orb?

Last time she had it was when she was stepping through the portal to the underworld.

'Oh no!' she thought, 'What if I dropped it down that well?!'

No, she couldn't have, as far as she could remember, the only thing with her after she stepped through was her gohei, which was still held gently in her right hand.

She took deep breaths, trying not to panic at the situation. She was bad enough when the Yin Yang orb was with her, but now she was completely helpless and defenseless.  
The odds were clearly not playing in the shrine maiden's favor today. One victory against the gate guardian was merely the start of her troubles.

"Help!"

The sudden shout startled her out of her lament, and despite her earlier bluntness to the boy from before, she found her legs carrying her in the direction of the shout.  
She squeezed herself in between the crowd, muttering courtesies even though they were not returned. The source of the shout was only a few yards away, and appeared to be coming from inside one of the many small houses. It was in that moment that Reimu realized what was wrong, the house was a burning inferno.

Normally this would not be an issue, ghosts are impossible to kill, they are already dead, so you can only subdue them. However, this was no ordinary fire that consumed the small house, it was a fire created by a very specific magic from a very specific Youkai.

A succubus... to be exact.

A succubus' flames could torch anything, even the souls that they consumed in their long existence.

"Help!"

It was a female who shouted for aid.

Ghosts continued to travel down the streets, either not hearing the woman or simply ignoring her altogether.

What were they doing?

Could they not see that someone was clearly in danger?

Reimu gritted her teeth.

_"Our home is being destroyed too!"_

She looked at her gohei, her robes, symbols that she was supposed to be a shrine maiden, a protector of the people.

'What did I get myself into?' she thought.

Reimu rushed forward with no further hesitation, charging into the building. "Spirit of protection!"

The barrier was up around her in the blink of an eye, but it could only hold back such powerful magic for a limited time, she had to move quickly. She could not see the walls around herself as she moved into the house, the fire was much too thick, but the woman was coughing and hacking, leading her in the right direction. Though the flames spread around her barrier to allow her passage, it was not enough to stave off the heat from such a fire. Luckily, she did not have to navigate through any doorways, and simply stumbled upon the woman in the main room, curled up in a corner as far away from the flames as she could be.

"It's okay!" shouted Reimu, "I'm here to get you out of here!"

Reimu extended her gohei to the woman, it seeped past the barrier easily.

"Grab onto it!"

The woman complied without a second thought, it was her only hope.

Reimu pulled her into the barrier and draped her arm around the woman to support her stance, quickly moving towards the entrance from whence she came. Just as the barrier gave out they broke free from the house, both of them gasping for air and sent into coughing fits as the house was burned to ash behind them.

When the miko recovered, she stood, dusted herself off, and took a deep breath of the fresh air.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

The woman nodded meekly, shakily standing on her own two feet, "Th... thank you, I don't know what happens if something destroys us here."

Reimu dropped to the ground, sitting cross legged and leaning her gohei on her shoulder, "You would cease to exist," she said bluntly. "If a soul is interrupted by a second death during the process of reincarnation they are then erased from existence."

"If that is the case, then I owe you everything," said the woman, bowing deeply.

"Who did this?"

The woman looked startled for a moment, "I... she said her name was Elis. She said something about how I'd make the perfect gift, it was strange really."

"If she wanted to hand you off then why did she try to destroy you?"

"I do not know."

"I see... well, I have to get going, I've got a job to do," said the miko, standing up once more and walking away, waving a hand above her head.

The woman was left speechless.

That miko wasn't a ghost.

But she wasn't a physical being either.

Perhaps... things would start getting exciting around here.


	4. Chapter 4

Cloud: I should note that this story is going to be rather short, since there are only four 'boss lolis' (My friend's term, not mine) in HRtP's Underworld route,  
which is the one I'm writing. It'll probably round out at just under ten chapters, as for Mima... you'll see :3.

Chapter 4: A Shrine Maiden's Duty

After hours of aimlessly wandering Reimu had found herself back where she had started, at the old looking well with a bucket rope and no bucket. She sighed hopelessly,  
sitting down against the small well and simply watching as the ghosts walked by, completely ignoring her. She leaned her head back, letting it rest on the stone of the well behind her, and thought about her current situation. Not only did she have to catch Sariel and her cohorts, but she was stuck in the underworld with no idea as to where she needed to go.

This was not Reimu's day at all.

If she had known her parents would leave and this would all happen...

But she didn't, and brooding over it was not going to catch Sairel.

It was during her slight musing that she took notice of it.

The crowd down the street to her right was in a slight panic, and someone was running towards her extremely fast.

The person running was the boy, Yusuke, the one who had asked her for help before she had impolitely ignored him. The sight of the boy was what brought Reimu to her feet.  
He clashed into her, causing the miko to lose some of her breath, "She's after me!" he shouted, wrapping his arms tightly around the shrine maiden.

"Who is?" she asked.

"The lady with the eyes, the one in the pretty dress!"

Eyes?

The crowd split, some ran away as fast as their legs would carry them, some fell to the ground and scrambled away in desperation, and some just vanished entirely. From the split in the crowd walked a youkai girl, probably a good inch or two shorter than the miko herself. As Yusuke had mentioned twice now, her dress was a bell dress, a yellow one with frills at the bottom and no sleeves, slung over her shoulders as it was. She looked like she was ready to attend a ball in Reimu's opinion... if it wasn't for the fact that in her hands she held what appeared to be five human eyeballs.

Reimu's stomach churned.

She leaned down to Yusuke, "I changed my mind," she said softly, "I'll take care of these youkai for you."

The boy looked up at her, clearly beaming with joy, "You will!?"

"Of course, it's my job after all, run, I'll get rid of her."

Yusuke nodded firmly, detaching from Reimu and running to the street behind her.

There was just one issue.

Reimu didn't have her Yin Yang orb.

"Lookie what we have here big brother," the girl spoke

Reimu tilted her head... big brother?

She grasped her gohei with both hands tightly, widening her stance as the girl finally stopped walking and gazed at her in what was almost certainly wonder, "It seems to be a soul fresh from Gensokyo, and a shrine maiden at that."

Her voice was lilting, excited, almost like a child that had found a new playmate.

"I don't know who you are," said Reimu, "But it's time you leave these souls to rest, so that they may live again."

The girl frowned, acting as if she had been insulted, "My name is Yuugen, what's yours?"

"... Reimu, Reimu Hakurei."

"That's such a pretty name, don't you agree Magan?"

"Who are you talking to?"

"My brother," she said, tilting her head and opening her palms to display the eyes, "My brother says you're here to destroy us, which is too bad, I really wanted a new friend."

Reimu gritted her teeth.

Yuugen.

She had heard that name before.

One of the many humans that were turned to youkai, Yuugen grew up in an aristocrat's household, preened from the day she was born to be the perfect girl. She was particularly close to her older brother Magan, who was torn from her arms the day he died.

Worse, this had happened only a year ago...

She was a young youkai, and one that Reimu had been unaware of, that meant she was dangerously unstable.

Her grip around her gohei tightened even futher, "Young girls should respect their elders and back down when they're told to. I wonder what your father would think Yuugen."

She frowned, "Father? I don't have a father silly," she said with a child's grin. "My brother says we should stop talking now."

'Damn,' thought Reimu, 'Without the Yin Yang orb... I'm going to be annihilated.'

Without another word Yuugen tossed the eyes into the air and they began to glow brightly and increase in size exponentially. The eyes were about the size of Reimu herself when they were finished growing... and all five of them were staring at her. In those eyes Reimu could see the clear intent to kill. "Yuugen!" she shouted, "That is NOT your brother!"

Yuugen frowned, "But he is, he even said so, and he treats me nice, just like he always did."

Before the miko could react, the eyes had converged on her and boxed her in.

"Spirit of protection!"

The barrier formed in a split second, sending the eyes tumbling back from the sheer concussive force. Yuugen waved her hand dismissively, causing the eyes to converge around the barrier. Their red pupils began to glow brightly, and a magical beam of energy sprouted forth from each one, straining the barrier as they circled Reimu. 'She's controlling those eyes like their one of her limbs,' thought Reimu, 'If I could somehow interrupt that control, I could beat her. I don't have any seals on me though, I can't fight without the orb.'

"Big brother says you should just give up and die."

She said it like a child would, she was mentally broken.

"I'd rather die standing!"

The barrier dropped and Reimu hit the floor on her stomach, causing the beams to pass above her.

The eyes, formed in a circle, hit each other when Reimu ducked the attack.

"Magan!" shouted Yuugen.

The eyes went tumbling back from each other, damaged from hitting themselves so forcefully. Reimu took this opportunity to run for the well.

_"I wouldn't do that if I were you Miss."_

The shrine maiden tugged the rope as hard as she could. She didn't know what would happen, but Yusuke had clearly warned her against such an action.

It was an act of desperation, Reimu could not beat Yuugen in this situation.

Nothing happened though, the well didn't budge at all.

Reimu frowned.

The eyes were recovering quickly, one was already staring at her, its wide gaze boring into her.

She tugged the rope again, this time she began to draw it as if she were bringing a bucket back up.

Suddenly, Reimu was blown back to the ground, as were the eyes. Yuugen's eyes widened at the spectacle before her.

The well had burst forth with souls, the shapes of men, women, children, animals, all of them...

They spread through the streets of the village, lighting up the eternal night with their glow.

Reimu felt something hit her right foot, and when she looked...

The Yin Yang orb!

She quickly stood, scooping up the orb as she did so. The eyes, despite being distracted from the outpouring of hundreds upon thousands of souls, turned to face her all at once. In those five eyes Reimu could see something, fear perhaps, they recognized the power that the Hakurei shrine held, and they were deathly afraid of it. "I'm going to show you that this thing isn't your brother Yuugen. You are a youkai now! Being controlled is beneath your kind, remember?!"

Reimu charged towards the group of eyes without a second thought, they tried to pull away from each other and break formation, but it was already too late.

"Spirit of protection!"

The barrier kicked up again, this time surrounding Reimu and her opponent as well. With out a second's thought the shrine maiden tossed the orb into the air above her head,  
bringing her gohei down on it full force. "Consider yourself exorcised," she said with a smirk.

The Yin Yang orb collided with the eye in front, obliterating it in a flash of light.

"MAGAN!"

The orb hit the barrier, flying back towards Reimu, this time she was ready. With another hit, another eye was destroyed. This time the orb was more erratic, it hit the corner of the barrier, causing it to ricochet towards the third eye. The orb once again flew towards Reimu, who caught it with her left hand and tossed the eyes another smirk, ""You know," she chided, "Interfering with the cycle of death is a biiiiig no no."

Another hit with her gohei was all it took, one eye was destroyed, and the last remaining began to spasm uncontrollably.

In but a moment, the last eye exploded, blowing Reimu back and shattering the barrier around them.

One last scream echoed from Yuugen. It was unintelligible, a shout of complete and utter anguish.

Reimu knew what she was seeing...

Her brother's death.

Reimu had collided with one of the buildings, putting a huge dent in the wall as a result. She moaned in pain lightly, trying to ignore the fact that her ribs were probably bruised. Her spirit couldn't take much punishment like that if she was to keep this up.

Her grip loosened and her gohei fell to the ground.

Yuugen was screaming and crying in grief.

The youkai had fell to her knees, shouting gibberish which was occasionally spaced with her brother's name.

The Yin Yang orb rolled into the crowd, who spread to let it pass until it came to a halt.

Reimu began to limp towards Yuugen, gritting her teeth against the pain.

When she reached the youkai she fell to her knees and wrapped her arms gently around the sobbing girl.

"Shhh, it's alright," she said gently.

Yuugen did not even care that the person who had supposedly destroyed her brother was the one consoling her, all she could do was wrap her arms around Reimu and sob uncontrollably into her shoulder. "H... he's gone!!"

Reimu stroked the girl's hair and smiled gently.

"YUUGEN!"

The girl hiccuped one last time before freezing completely.

Reimu let her arms fall away when Yuugen pulled away from her.

From the crowd of ghosts came one soul, a tall man who looked to be nearly the age of twenty.

"Yuugen," he said softly.

The youkai leaped to her feet and ran to her brother, colliding with him and burying her face in his stomach.

He looked at Reimu and smiled, "I can't thank you enough," he said.

Reimu waved a hand, "I'm just doing my job."

Magan pushed his little sister away from him and knelt to her level. "Yuugen... it's not your fault."

The girl's tears had slowed, but not ceased, "But... but..."

He put a finger to her lips. "I got sick, that's all there is to it," he said with a smile. "You don't need to become a youkai, you don't need to know some kind of magic,  
because this is where I am now, and nothing is going to change that."

"I just... wanted to see you again."

"You are," he said with a chuckle, "I'm right in front of you."

"But... you'll go away again."

Magan sighed, "It's just... the way things are, and it'll happen to you someday too, though... a little later now," he said with a smile.

"That's an understatement," muttered Reimu, knowing well that some youkai lived well past the thousands.

Magan stood once more, laying a hand on his sister's head, "Listen erm..."

"Reimu," said the miko, "Reimu Hakurei."

"I'd like to come with you, whatever was controlling my sister... it looked pretty nasty, and I don't want that to happen to her again."

"It was a spirit of malice," said the miko, "They find souls that have suffered greatly and take advantage of them, your sister was an especially good target, she had suffered greatly from your death and was a newly born youkai, easy to manipulate."

"I'll come too!" shouted Yuugen.

Magan sighed, "I... alright." He was not about to deny his sister one last time with him. "If it's okay with you Ms. Hakurei."

Reimu frowned, "I don't see why not."

After all, she was starting to think that tackling Sariel on her own would be far more trouble than it was worth.


	5. Chapter 5

Cloud: The base is having an exercise, so I'm stuck on twelve hour shifts and randomly putting on my gas mask. I won't be getting much writing done, but I am determined to finish this story, so onwards!

Chapter 5:A Succubus' Love

With Magan and Yuugen's help, Reimu had found herself outside of the eternal village. She would have taken a deep breath in relief, except for the fact that the air was now stale and bitter. They were clearly at the entrance of the village, the gate rose tall above them, wide open. A single individual guarded the gate from passerby, shooing away ghosts who ventured too close as if they were mere insects. This gate guard was clearly not human, several times their size, he looked to be some sort of oni, an ogre type, green in color, a massive jaw, and horns sticking out of his forehead to further drive the point home. Beyond the gate Reimu could see only complete darkness.

She knew what this was.

Where souls never ventured lest they be lost forever.

But... what did Sariel gain by going out into purgatory?

Reimu and her party approached the gate, ready to speak to the oni in question. He held up his hand abruptly, "You don't wanna do that!" he scolded.

Reimu frowned, "Listen here ogre, I don't know who you are, but you're speaking to the Hakurei shrine maiden."

"I don't care what shrine you hail from, if you go in there you'll be lost for an eternity."

"And?" Growled Reimu, crossing her arms impatiently.

"And uh... you could never come back."

"...And?"

"And you would never be reincarnated?"

"AND?"

"Listen lady, it's my job to keep you restless souls from wandering through this here gate, right now you are preventing me from doing my job."

Reimu stepped towards the oni, glared up at him, and with one last disapproving frown...

Kicked him right in the shin.

The oni bit his lower lip and keeled down to the ground, "Argh!! You little brat!!"

Reimu smirked, "Serves you right trying to down talk me, now you're gonna let us through this gate or I'm going to obliterate you right here!!"

She could hear Yuugen lightly giggling behind her. "It's your ass!" Shouted the ogre, flailing his arm as if her were casting them aside.

"There," said Reimu happily, "Was that really so hard Mr. Ogre?"

"Grr..."

Proceeding through the gate itself was easier said than done. Now that she had bartered for the oni's permission to proceed Reimu was not absolutely sure of herself. When she looked past the gate, all she could see was pure and utter darkness. Suffice it to say she had never seen anything of the sort before. Even during the new moon with no candles she could vaguely make out what was directly in front of her, but this...

This was different.

Much different.

So, she did what any good shrine maiden would do...

She took a deep breath and jumped right in.

------

Darkness...

Reimu took this darkness in as if it were her own. It was not unpleasant, in fact, it was a rather peaceful feeling. It felt as if she were floating outside of herself, as if she were in a dream. There was nothing around her, but then again, maybe that wasn't so bad. She knew she had come here for something, but at the moment she could care less what that something was, and she could very well worry about it later.

Suddenly, as if it were never there in the first place, the darkness retreated in on itself...

And before her was her shrine, still intact, on a beautiful summer day. She saw herself, a small six year old girl. She was tossing the Yin Yang orb up and down, smiling wide at the simple thing. She saw her father standing in the doorway, watching her with a large grin plastered on his face, arm wrapped around the Hakurei shrine maiden,  
his wife.

Reimu knew she wanted to cry at that very moment, but she was no longer even a spirit, she did not know what she was.

All she knew was that her parents were below her, and she was floating above them, much too far away to reach out and so much as touch them.

The image faded, her parents were gone, and the little girl was left alone in front of the shrine.

The Yin Yang orb fell to the ground, and the little girl began to sob.

Reimu supposed that was how she felt, she just hadn't much time to think about her own feelings, as the shrine she had grown up in was destroyed around her.

It was then that something particularly interesting happened.

Reimu saw a figure approach the little girl. She couldn't quite make out the distinctive shapes of this person, but she could tell it was another girl. The stranger laid her hand on the girl's shoulder, and when the girl looked up the tears had ceased, and she smiled again, as if her parents were watching her play with the Yin Yang orb. Then, as Reimu's life had been flipped upside down naught but a day ago, it seemed the little shrine maiden was in for a special surprise as well. Suddenly, she was surrounded by dozens upon dozens of individuals.

They were all a blur, indistinct, and just as quickly as this had happened, Reimu realized why she could not make these strangers out.

She had not met them yet...

------

"...iemu!!"

"...Reimu!!"

"Ms. Reimu!"

Reimu's eyes fluttered open at the third shout of her name.

The person shaking her...

"Yuugen?" muttered Reimu.

"We have company!" shouted Magan, positioning himself in front of Reimu and his sister.

When the shrine maiden's vision cleared she attempted to take in her surroundings. It appeared she had been unconscious on a grey marble floor, but other than that she could make out nothing.

It was then she realized that they had successfully traversed into purgatory, nothing surrounded them but the cold marble tile that they stood on, the sky and the horizon were pure black.

Reimu hopped to her feet, now interested in meeting the 'company' that Magan had spoke of.

"You've sure got some guts for a little shrine maiden Reimu!"

Reimu's eyes narrowed, she knew that voice...

"It's been a while little girl, has all that training paid off?"

"Elis," growled Reimu, "A woman in the village said your name, but I didn't want to believe it."

The succubus seemingly materialized from the darkness, landing directly in front of the group, "Little Yuugen, what happened?" asked the blond woman, tweaking the red bow on top of her head, "I was super worried about you, running off like that, right into the arms of the enemy no less. As for the woman you spoke of, you must mean this one." In the blink of an eye Elis changed her appearance to that of the helpless villager Reimu had rescued from the fire, "Oh no! Help me!"

Reimu could do nothing but glare at the woman in front of them.

She reverted to herself and tossed Reimu a wink, "You were way to easy to trick, I was hoping that my fire would do the job, but I guess I underestimated you."

"My father sealed you away!" shouted Reimu, pointing an accusing finger at the succubus.

"Oh yeah huh?" Elis put a finger to her chin and frowned, "It's a loooong story honey, but the short version is that the angel of death had a task for me in exchange for my freedom."

"Some angel she must be!" shouted Magan, "Freeing succubi from their confines."

"Oh I'm really nice, you just have to get to know me. Yuugen, be a dear and shut him up will you, I've still got more treats for you little youkai."

"You tricked me!" shouted the girl, "You said if I was a youkai I could save my brother!!"

Reimu sighed and shook her head. Reaching into the small pockets on her robes, she pulled out the shrunken Yin Yang orb, and with a single thought from her it was once again as large as her head. "You really need to learn when to be quiet Elis, it's not good for your complexion when you talk too much."

Elis' eyebrow twitched, "Well at least I don't look like an old hag like your mother did!"

Reimu smirked, "Spirit of protection!"

The barrier hissed around the group, and then around the succubus that stood across from them. "Oh how sweet," said Elis, "Are you trying to protect me too?"

"For someone who wants me dead," said Reimu, "You haven't been paying much attention to what I've been doing, have you?"

"That's it! No more talking!"

Elis made the first move, charging Reimu with no hesitation, raising her arm to strike. Before Reimu could get the Yin Yang orb off Yuugen had already jumped in front of her. "Yuugen!" shouted Reimu.

The youkai stood her ground until Elis collided with her. A loud crack echoed against the barrier, and the miko was surprised when she saw that Yuugen had stopped Elis' blow with a single hand. Reimu had forgotten how truly strong youkai were until that very moment. "Now Ms. Reimu!"

Reimu nodded and tossed the Yin Yang orb into the air.

Elis' eyes widened in horror when she realized what the miko was planning.

With a solid hit from her gohei the orb went flying straight for the succubus. Yuugen let go and jumped to the side, having seen first hand what the Yin Yang orb was truly capable of. The orb hit Elis in her stomach before she could back away, and the succubus coughed up blood as she was thrown back against the barrier. The ball rebounded towards the ground, and then to the roof of the barrier. Reimu and Yuugen charged towards the succubus.

Elis was up in an instant despite the enormous blow she had taken. With a single wave of her hand fire spread in front of her, halting the miko and the young youkai in their tracks as they approached her. "Take one step forward," she taunted, "And you will be burned alive. You can't throw up a barrier inside of a barrier!"

"I suppose that's true," conceded Reimu, "But you're also forgetting that this is my area, my barrier, that you are in Elis, how long can you last against a shrine maiden and a youkai?"

"The shrine maiden and the youkai are both young," she said with a harsh laugh.

Reimu smirked, "Young yes, stupid... no."

Elis' eyes widened once more when the Yin Yang orb collided with the back of her head, sending her tumbling forward and causing her fire to dissipate as quickly as it had been conjured.

"Ouch!" said Yuugen, giggling, "That looks like it hurt!"

Elis pushed herself up and growled at the shrine maiden, "This is NOT over!! If you think some stupid little trick like that is gonna take me down!..."

Reimu smirked, "I wouldn't have it any other way Elis."


End file.
